Reflections
by kyougu-neko
Summary: Finafreakinly I was inspired to write Jin's POV. This is about the events of the last few episodes of the series so there are a lotta spoilers. Fuu and Mugen's thoughts as their journey ends.MUxFUU. Also take the rating seriously.
1. Reflections: Mugen

Disclaimer: How many times must I tell you that I do not own Samurai Champloo. I do own a set of fake samurai swords though.

**Reflections: Mugen's POV**

"_If you must know, I've been up to no good my entire life."_

My goals in life used to be so simple: be the biggest bad-ass that ever lived and screw the biggest tits that I could find. Somewhere along the way I got sidetracked. Somewhere along the way I met the biggest pain in the ass in all of Japan. That same somewhere along the way I met Mr. No-Personality. I don't know how the fuck it happened but I have a feeling I was tricked into joining them.

I should've killed him when I had the chance. All this time, I've fought to be the best. I've killed everyone who just seemed tougher than me. But now, goddamn it, I don't even wanna kill him. What's wrong with me? Shit I'm even starting to feel bad about killing that Sara chick.

It's all _her _fault. She has too much goodness in her heart to be hanging around a guy like me. Fucking Fuu, and she doesn't even care about all the bad shit I've done. I guess that's why I've stuck around for so long. Everyone else only sees the badness in me, she can somehow see past it, past the rot to see what's good. And now she's got herself kidnapped again.

Those pricks have no idea who they're fucking with.

A few months ago I couldn't give a rat's ass what happened to her. What's a damn promise to a fuckin pirate? I started this stupid quest cause I thought I'd get fed regularly. Hah! That didn't even happen! I didn't understand it back then, what had stopped me from slitting her throat. I guess I know now, after last night, I won't ever forget.

I saw them, together by the riverbank. I saw her bury her face in his hakama. I felt something snap inside me and the same fire that used to flare up during a fight was banked by a new fire. Hotter, fiercer. I stayed in my sleeping roll cause I wanted to see what would happen next. I didn't even realize I had one hand on my sword.

After a few seconds they pulled away from each other. Jin walked over to me and sat down near his own roll. "Go to her." He said in his damn quiet voice. I was confused up the ass. "Don't say I never did anything for you." he says. What the fuck?

I don't know why I did it, damned if I ever did anything anyone ever told me to do. But I got off my ass and walked over to her. My palms were sweating and I walked slowly. Don't know what I was so fucking nervous about, it wasn't like she could hurt me. But I guess I knew that was bullshit. She'd hurt me when she hugged him. Fucking bitch, she was crying.

"What's with the crying and shit?" Why the hell did I say that? Obviously he'd rejected her. So it surprised me when she said what she said. "I guess it's cuz I don't want you to leave after tomorrow." This was getting weird. I wanted to tell her that I would never leave her. But I knew that it was a promise I couldn't keep. "Pirate" remember. So I did what any other confused ass pirate would do: I kissed her.

She kissed me back. SHE KISSED ME BACK! Holy hell. What's going on here? I heard her say my name softly. I don't think she even realized that she said it. I had it all wrong. She was crying cause of me. Lot's of people've cried cause of me, but I suspect the reasons were different. Jin hadn't rejected her, she was scared that I would. I'm an idiot.

I was surprised by the kiss. I was even more surprised at how good she tasted. Not like the whores I've been with. Lifeless dolls who'd had their brains fucked out by the time I'd got to them. They tasted like every other dick they'd had in their mouths. It was a wonder I could ever get it up. But hey, persevere right?

Fuu was different. She was sweet and sour. Fire and ice just like her personality. It drove me fucking nuts. For once in my miserable existence, I wanted to please a woman. Not just any woman. I wanted to please Fuu. Ruin her for any other man out there. Of everything we'd been through; this, this was the greatest adventure. This was the thing I'd remember always.

When we were done I couldn't do much more than pull her closer and bury my face in her soft brown hair. I inhaled her scent. Fresh, like the woods we spent so damn much time in. I'll never again sleep in the woods without thinking about her. About this night.

In one stinkin night she'd changed me. Some people say falling in love makes a man weak. BULLSHIT. I'd never felt stronger even though I was too exhausted to raise a sword. She gave me strength, she gave me a reason for my existence. She gave me something no one else had seen fit to give me. And she did it without even trying. Goddamn.

Falling in love with her was so effortless. I fell asleep with her in my arms as though that's where she'd always been.

Why the fuck she'd tricked us to go see this smelly dude on her own's beyond me. But it wasn't like she could get in trouble on that tiny island right? Yeah fuckin right!

Jin and me were sitting on the shore looking at Ikitsuke Island eating the castela cakes she'd bought. We avoided talking about the favor he'd done me. Instead we talked about the baseball game we'd won a few weeks back.

Those Yankee bastards thought they could come here and jack us around. Fuck that. We kicked their asses back to that shitty place they came from. Wherever that was. I don't know where Yankee is. And who gives a damn anyway, they can't even win at their own games. Stupid shits. Jin was squashed flat by the fat ass catcher and couldn't finish the game. He told me that if he hadn't been paralyzed, he would've killed the guy.

Jin's an alright guy. I couldn't stand him at first. Couldn't wait to kill him. Now it's like we're brothers in arms. Fuu did that too. She pushed us into this friendship. I don't mind so much now. And I know that if I ever hurt her Jin would kill me and goddamn it I'd let him do it. Things got a little uncomfortable so we changed the subject to the time I learned to read. . .

I was eating the last cake when this dude walked up. Assassin. That was one tough sonuvabitch. It was like trying to fight smoke. One second her was there and the next he was gone. Jin was fighting him when the gimp showed up saying that Fuu'd been kidnapped on the damn island. FUCK! She couldn't stay out of trouble if I locked her in a freakin closet.

Shit now what? Should I stay there and help Jin. Or should I go save Fuu. When Jin said "take care of Fuu" I didn't bother arguing. We both knew. I had to get to her. I couldn't lose her now. No matter what, she was more important than my pride.

The gimp seemed familiar somehow. And he seemed interested only in me. I guess it's someone from my past. I'll never forgive myself if I don't get there in time.

I can't believe the situation I'm in. In a boat on the way to save the chick I love. On the way to kill the dumbass crazy enough to steal her from me. A year ago, if you told me that this was where I'd end up, I would have sliced you head off. Now, I might buy you a drink. It's a crazy world.

Cause somewhere along the way I realized being a big badass wasn't all that important. Life's about being with people who care about you. It's about Fuu and Jin, but mostly about Fuu. Somewhere along the way, I guess I found myself.

But first. . . heads are gonna roll.

(A/N: Okay I decided to do it. I added Mugen's POV. Hope you all like it, I zoned out in World Civ and wrote it. Man I can't stand that class. Well gotta go study for a psycholinguistics exam, I hate that class too. Go figure I prefer statistics. Something's wrong here. Neko-out)


	2. The Penultimate Battle

Disclaimer: It has come to my omnipotent attention that I am not the only one after Mugen. . . I must eliminate the competition. How to get rid of the bodies. . . oh and yeah I don't own Samurai Champloo. Now, back to business. . . bodies.

(_A/N: This ones gonna need some splainin you know. The three brothers didn't come with ready made names so I took the liberty of giving them some. The guy with the eye patch is called **Hitotsume** which means one-eyed monster in Japanese (i think). The dude in the wheelchair is **Kurumaisu** which I hear means wheelchair and the gimpy brother's name is **Muzumuzu** which I think means to be impatient but I just liked how it sounded. Okay, continue)_

**Reflections: The Penultimate Battle (various POV)**

" _Life is such a bitch sometimes. You go and make a really long journey only to have the whole thing blow up in your face as you reach your final destination." _

**Kurumaisu:**

There he is, the brute, looking as filthy and barbaric as the day fate brought us together when he took my leg and trapped me within my own mind. The same unkempt hair, the same lowly markings, the same disregard for the lives around him.

Maybe not the same, exactly. A little older perhaps, softer. He no longer has the same amount of anger and absolute hatred for the world around him. His eyes give him away. Too bad for him, he'll need it against Hitotsume. Today he will get his comeuppance. We've got his bitch and I can tell from the mongrel's expression that he wants the wretched little thing back. Hitotsume chose well in her. No other would have served as well.

Ah, but he is wet and bleeding. And where is Muzumuzu? Oh yes, of course, my youngest brother was never a patient one. He has been dispatched. Another notch on the pirate's cursed belt no doubt. His past must be littered with bodies and broken lives. My poor brother, he will be missed and avenged. But he was far too uncontrollable, it was only a matter of time. The encounter with the pirate so long ago affected us all. Were I still able to move I may not have been able to wait to kill him either.

What must be going through his mind at this point? What insight graces the heart of the unrepentant condemned at the time of their execution?

**Hitotsume:**

Well, well, so he actually showed up. I'm surprised. From what the girl told me, he had no honor. She was either wrong or buying time. It doesn't matter, the ass dies today one way or another. He has taken too much from us and the world won't miss him.

He is a rat. Scurrying around the face of the earth. Infecting and killing everyone he meets. Covered in corruption and reeking of the filth of humanity. Resistant to death but for the most base and violent means. That is the doom we shall deliver today. Here in the home of this HEATHEN GOD!

Hmmmm, his steps falter, clearly Muzumuzu gave him a harder fight than even I would have expected. This will work in my favor. But I will play with him first, no need to rush the inescapable. I will prevail.

**Mugen:**

Shit, I've seen that look in more men that I've killed than I care to remember. This bastard's fucking crazy. Psychos are always harder to kill. They have no fear. Hell most of them think they're fucking invincible. This is gonna get real ugly real quick.

Where's Fuu? Oh shit, she's hurt. He beat the shit outta her. That fucking prick! My body tenses as I sense it. The rage, I feel it bubbling up from deep inside me. It'll keep rising until it spills out and splatters everything around me in his blood. I can smell his life rushing through his veins, If I get my fucking way, It'll be all over the floor. This is Mukuro's fault. When I see him in hell, I'm gonna kill 'im again and again.

Even with these thoughts crowding my head I manage to keep my expression calm and my voice steady. I don't know how I do it, but there it is.

Time to get serious. What would fish-face Jin do? Look around, see what's goin on. GODDAMNIT, it's so fucking hard. All I can see is Fuu tied to the cross thingy. She's gotta get lost before I can do anything. Once she's safe I can focus on ripping his guts out through his nose and feeding 'em to 'im. I wanna smile at the mental image but it'll just ruin the moment.

It takes everything I have not to shout the next words outta my mouth but he's got a blade to her neck and a knee-jerk reaction could kill her.

"Sorry buddy, time to give her back now."

**Fuu:**

I felt my eyes widen until I thought that they might pop right out of my head. I can't believe he actually came. I see him there with the sun at his back but I still can't believe he came. He is beautiful and if this jerk decides to kill me now I can die happy, having received his love.

But my happiness fades as he agrees to stay if I am let go. Instead of putting his sword on the ground he throws it at me nonchalantly. I silently thank him for taking my life because this world would be nothing without him. I have a moment of shocked disbelief when I hear the sword strike the wooden cross and I feel no pain. He missed. But clarity came soon when the ropes that had bound me slithered to the ground taking me with them and landing in a heap.

I get up and stumble to him trying to ignore the aches and pain from the beating I had just received. I have every intention of staying though I don't know what I could possible do to help. I stop just short of him but his eyes never leave Hitotsume. Even when he speaks, he never looks at me and it hurts.

"Get outta here."

"But Mugen. . . " I start.

"Get outta here." He says louder this time " You gotta meet your Sunflower dude. I'm gonna take care of this guy."

**Mugen:**

I want to say more to her. There's so much to say. But I gotta take care of business first. And I can't bring myself to look at her cause if I did I might not be able to control myself. What that assassin said was true; I need to be able to use my brain in a fight, my instinct ain't always gonna help. But as usual she's being a pain in the ass.

"But Mugen I can't leave you." She has no idea what those damn words mean to me. Me, a guy no ones ever loved. I probably coulda kissed her if it wasn't so fucking dangerous right now. So I keep my eye on the prize and imagine every horrible death he could possibly suffer.

"Don't give me that crap." I tell her, " Listen to me, I'm gonna be pissed off if we came all this way for nothin. Now get lost." She doesn't understand that she's just gonna be a distraction to me.

"I can't, what if. . ."

"I'm not gonna die. . . have some faith in me willya?" Honestly, it's not like she's never seen me in a fight. Why'd I have to fall in love with her?

"Oh, Mugen."

"Beat it. . ." She's just standing there. "Go on!" Fuckin A why won't she leave? "I SAID GO!"

Finally she runs off. I see her from the corner of my eye. She never looks back, good for her.

Now I can do what I gotta do. I see his weapon clearly now and there's something funky about it. I gotta be careful cause I don't have my sword and til I can get to it I'm screwed.

**Hitotsume:**

It's pathetic what this wild mutt has become. Almost a lap dog to her.

**Mugen:**

I've never seen a weapon like his before. It almost looks like a scythe but shorter. He's shifting to the left, he'll make his move soon. Good cause I don't know how much longer I can take his bellyachin about how life's been so fuckin unfair to him. He has no idea what unfair is.

Unfair is being born innocent on the Ryukus. Unfair is having to fight for survival every step of the way and in the end, what does it get you? Abso-fuckin-lutely nothing. Unfair is having to take this crap for something I was dragged into. And unfair is knowing that Fuu is too fuckin good for a guy like me, but shit, when has that ever stopped me?

Any second now he's gonna pounce. . . a flick of his wrist and . . . WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK! There's a damn chain hidden in the shaft. That means his reach is three times what I'd originally thought. Man, I'm really screwed now.

Time to go into evasive action till I can figure out how to get past this bastard. Good thing there's lotsa crap to hide behind. . . Oh shit. Damn I messed up. He's got my arm wrapped in his chain. Okay this puts a crimp in my style, but I can work through it. Arghhh, this fuckin hurts. Goddamnit. Now I'm getting pissed off. I need to get away from the chain.

I do a back flip to dislodge the chain from my arm but now what? I still don't have a sword. I gotta get behind something. . . "Uhnnnn" Shit, he cut me. Crap he got me in the gut. The pain is blinding and I get down on my hands and knees trying to fight through the haze.

**Kurumaisu:**

Look at him, on his knees like a common animal. What an appropriate simile. I hope that Hitotsume doesn't plan on killing him just yet. It is so satisfying to see him in such a state.

**Mugen:**

Damn, I don't know how much more of this I can take. He's coming up on my right side now, I can hear his footsteps and I can hear his blade dragging along behind him but I can't move out of the way. I'm paralyzed by the pain.

I fall to my side as he kicks me and I scream as he jabs the butt end of the staff into the wound in my hand. I can't do anything as he puts his foot on my face. Damn! I'd give my right eye if he'd just shut the hell up so I can think! Finally he gets off of me. I make a break for my sword but he keeps swinging the blade so I can't get close enough to grab it.

Ah shit I did it again. I let him get his chain around my arm. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm so focused on getting my sword that I forget about the chain. Well I know how to get out of this. Arghhhh! My arm is dislocated. I might not make it out of this alive. No! I have to make it out. She's gonna need me to protect her.

The thought of her gives me strength as I put my plan into action. I pitch up against him to make him think that I'm done in. He slams me into a beam and goes on with his stupid ass speech about how I disgraced his family. I listen to him, just to buy myself time and make him get comfortable.

Now it's my turn bitch.

"WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!" His eyes get wider. Good, that means he's listenin.

"You dumb dickhead. When it comes to living with disgrace I wrote the book. There ain't a damn thing a loser like you could ever teach me. Want me to have a taste a how you feel? Then quit talking like a pussy. When you point a sword at someone either you kill them or they kill you. There ain't no in between. Now I'm tired of all your pissin and moanin so why don't you shut up and get over it!"

Perfect! He's totally distracted. Now's my chance. Time for my ace in the hole. I pull out the dagger that is always hidden in the bottom of my sheath and throw it at him. I miss on purpose so that he looks away. Now's my chance to get my sword. After that It'll be over for him. I scrabble over the rubble from the rotting church. I have to fight to get my sword out of the cross cause I've only got one good arm. That bastard!

Now that we're both armed we can finish this.

He's still swinging the blade around like a madman. He's gonna take this building down before too long. There it goes, the building's coming down. Shit. Lucky I got under some crap before I got crushed. Hopefully that dumbass died in the collapse.

It just figures, I'm not a real lucky guy. There he is. I've had enough of this shit. I run away from the building to draw him onto open ground. I'll have a better chance to kill him then. This is as good a spot as any I guess.

I turn and dodge his weapon and as I come up I throw my sword over his head so that it sticks itself in the sand behind him. Make him think I missed, the asshole. Then I run to him and stop just short of his face. He has no room to use his weapon so I'm pretty safe.

"This is where you die!" I go on a handstand and kick his blade where my sword is. I move behind him and hook my legs under his armpits. Then I pull him down until I have him in a pile-driver position. I fall back so that he is now on top of me. I make him think that he has the upper hand but that's his mistake.

I get a hold of his weapon's staff and pull as hard as I can. It hurts like a bitch. But I can feel the tension in the chain as it get caught on my sword. I can hear the blade flying through the air as it makes its way back to us.

I've got him now.

**Kurumaisu:**

NOOOOO! Hitotsume. He took Hitotsume's head off.

Damn him and his black heart. It is up to me now. Damn but he is like a cockroach. No matter, I have a surprise for him. I'm not as helpless as I may look.

For him, I will take no chances. I will die in the process but it is a small price to pay to know that I have taken his life. There is a gun in the arm of my chair. BANG! I've hit him in the back. Too bad, I was aiming for his heart, but it is too high and I cannot move the gun.

He turns around and sees me. His eyes widen in understanding when he sees the smoking barrel. Now he is making his way towards me. He is stumbling. Good. When he gets closer I will light the fuse on the cache of dynamite that I have hidden in the bottom of the chair. Almost there, just a little closer.

NOW!

**Mugen:**

Now what! Damn, that's a lotta dynamite. Fuckin A I'm too close.

I try to get away from the blast, but it hits me and my entire body feels like its just run into a brick wall at a hundred miles per hour. I'm sure I've broken every bone that I have. The last thing that I hear as the darkness claims me is her voice. I love when she says my name.

(_A/N: Okay that took me long enough to write. I hope that I did the episode some justice. I'm not real good at fight scenes and it was a bitch to do it in first person. What was I thinking? Oh well, please please please review my story. Thank you for reading it. Neko out)_


	3. Reflections: Fuu

Disclaimer: No I do not own Samurai Champloo. . . but can I please own Mugen?. . . no? Well screw you guys. I'm going home.

**WARNINGS:**

The following fic contains spoilers for the last episode.

It also contains a **lemon** so beware. And don't say I didn't warn you. Its your own damn fault if you don't read these things first!

**Reflections: (Fuu's POV)**

"_Sunflowers don't have scents. So wouldn't that mean that the Sunflower Samurai doesn't exist?"_

It was true what I'd been told. The Sunflower Samurai in my mind, was an illusion. Reality robbed me of my fantasies. A frail, sick man who had abandoned his family to keep them safe from the shogunate never figured in my plans. It just wasn't fair.

I wanted to hate him. To hurt him as I'd been hurt. But even that satisfaction was pilfered from me. He had suffered more than I ever had, knowing all the while that his beloved wife and daughter were alive and suffering for his actions. I had been content to know him dead until my mother left this world.

Damn him, why wasn't he strong? Why didn't he stand tall with pride in his eyes and disdain for me? Perhaps then I could justify my ire. I could deliver my hate filled words that would open his eyes. Words that would drive him to his knees, weeping, begging for my mercy.

"Why didn't you love me?" I would ask and he would admit to his selfishness. I would brush aside his reaching hands and utter my final judgment. "You should have stayed dead." And I would walk back to them with his wails and piteous cries echoing behind me unheeded. I would walk back to my friends, my companions, my steadfast protectors with my head held high, my quest completed. They would regard me both in their own ways. Jin with silent praise and understanding. Mugen, with a slap on the back and a loud acclaim " So you finally grew a pair." No wonder I loved them both. They had become my family.

But that dream was shattered as I ran ,battered, from the man Mugen had saved me from to the ramshackle home on the bluff. I came to find a Samurai, instead I found a man on his death bed. I had left my companions on the shore to protect them and instead I had placed them in danger. It seemed so different last night when I had replayed the plan over and over in my mind. He had given me confidence in the simple act of love making. But now the dream was over and I may never see him again.

From the beginning, when I had tricked them into joining my quest, and through all of our adventures I knew that we three would become close. Still it was unexpected when he came to me last night at the camp. I never would have expected such an emotion in him.

I had realized long ago that he was special to me, still that night a feeling grew inside me. It may have been love but I don't really know. I've never been in love. Still if I were to use a word to describe the tightness in my heart as he lowered his head to kiss me, it would have to be love.

And lust followed soon after as I lost myself in the play of our tongues. I tangled my fingers in his shirt as he raised his calloused hands to my face. He broke away and held my gaze. I can only imagine how I looked at that moment but it seemed to amuse him as the corners of his mouth curved up into a small smile. He looked deep into my eyes and I understood what he was asking."Is this what you want?" I answered him by grabbing his stupid head and smashing my lips against his. He laughed and scooped me up into his arms.

I could have stayed there forever.

He walked, with me in his arms, a short distance to a small clearing where he set me on my feet and reclaimed my lips. I ran my fingers through his unruly black hair and then traced his jawline with my thumbs tickled by the stubble that always seemed to be there.

He skimmed the outline of my body until he reached my waist. He quickly untied my obi and let my kimono slide down my slender shoulders and pool at my bare feet. His nimble fingers made quick work of my undergarments and I stood before him, naked. He made an appraising sweep with his eyes and said "You know, I was wrong. You aren't flat as a board." I smiled at him and he smiled back with his head cocked to one side.

My turn, I helped him out of his red kimono and white shirt. He pulled off his shorts and kicked his steel-soled geta away. I gave his naked form an assessing sweep and noted the scars that he had acquired in my service. I traced a gash along his flat stomach and whispered "gomen" while I bent to kiss it. Never one for grace and purely gentle gestures he straightened me roughly. "They are there by my choice. Apologies are a waste of air." he said voice gruff, eyes hard, mouth set in a stern line. I nodded and he pulled me to him once again. Tilting my head in a silent plea, I savored the kiss as it landed on my waiting lips.

I continued exploring his body with my hands and instinctively drove my nails into his back when he moved his mouth to suckle my neck where it joined my shoulder. Suddenly I fount myself on the ground flat on my back with no recollection as to how it happened. The night was silent as I looked to his handsome face mere inches above my own the smirk back on his lips. I loved that smirk. His body hovered above mine and I felt him nudge my entrance. I closed my eyes and whispered "do it."

He surprised me with his control as he slowly entered my body. I sucked in my breath and as he filled me I was pervaded by a sense of peace that had eluded me for so long. With every powerful thrust my heart swelled with emotion. Every grunt and moan punctuated by a kiss. I felt his hands at my chest heightening my pleasure. I could feel every nerve in my body tingling as my skin prickled with a mounting tension.

When it broke, it was a tidal wave that started at my core and radiated to my toes causing them to curl and my scalp felt charged with electricity. I cried out his name as the wave crested "MUGEN!" I felt him tense inside me when I cried out, his thrusts becoming erratic. He spilled into me and lowered his head, nibbling my ear and whispering my name; "Fuu."

I was shivering with the aftermath of my climax and I could feel a muscle twitching in my thigh. He rolled off of me, spent and exhausted. Using the last of his energy he gathered me in his arms. My over-sensitized skin quivered wherever his calloused hands touched me. I covered us with my discarded kimono and listened to him fall asleep.

What Jin would think of our union I didn't care about at that moment. For the first time in years, I was content. I forced myself not to think about what would happen in the next battle because I didn't know what I would do if he was taken from me as well. For now it was enough to feel safe and content in his arms.

When we awoke the following morning, today, I had made up my mind. I would play one more trick on them. To keep them safe, this time _I_ would be _their_ protector. I decided to visit Seisou Kasumi on my own.

So now I find myself outside the broken home of the infamous Sunflower Samurai with an old man telling me that my father didn't go a day without thinking of me. The contentment that I had felt last night and this morning is gone, replaced with an empty sadness I could not fathom.

Despite my best efforts Mugen is in danger once again. And Jin, what about Jin? Nothing turned out the way it should have. The Sunflower Samurai is a sick, frail man. Mugen, my comfort, is in danger. And Jin, who has been like a brother to me, is nowhere to be seen. I can do nothing but cry as I reflect on my life.

(A/N: Okay how was that? It was my first try at a deep and dramatic fic, not to mention my first lemon. I may add more chapters for Jin and Mugen's take on these events later. Please let me know in the form of wonderful and insightful, maybe even flame filled, reviews what you all think. And don't forget to check out my humorous Champloo fic called "One Wish". Peace. Neko out.)


	4. Reflections: Jin's POV

Disclaimer: No I don't own Samurai Champloo cuz if I did there would totally be a second season.

**Reflections: Jin's POV**

"_For my entire life, I've chosen to fight for no one but myself. My dedication and my study of the sword was for no one but myself . . . until now."_

It was no use, no matter how much I attempted to exorcise those two from my mind I could not. The time that I spent in their company was. . . to put it mildly. . . interesting. I am uncertain if, in the end, I realized my purpose in life but perhaps I did come away with somewhat more. Afterall for a man such as I who has lived without constant companionship for the majority of my life, those two were a begrudging breath of fresh air.

Never have I known two such aggravating individuals. One with no sense at all and the other with no discipline. And yet. . . and yet when I think of them now. . . it is with a heart much lighter than before.

Sitting under the sakura tree and letting my feet rest is doing nothing for my train of thought. But still they bring a smile to my face. I have been on my own for two months now but I know that I will never again be truly alone. Our hearts traverse strange paths and one may never know what awaits on the journey. I hope that those two find each other again, they were created to irritate each other for the rest of their lives. I saw it that night though it should have been obvious much sooner.

For myself I wish only one thing, Shino's smile and beautiful face. And now I know that we can live in peace. Another thing that has left my heart lighter is the knowledge that Kariya is dead. And the Shogunate has no one else to send after me.

Kariya. The man who indirectly led to Shishou's death by my hand, my ultimate demise and my subsequent shame. Truly the man had no equal in skill.I regret that I will never again fight with another such as him. We are a dying breed, our professions left in the tomes of history in preference for more modern machines of death. There is no honor in killing a faceless foe. I saw his face clearly, the desire to kill seeping from every pore. He was a phantom fighter with the very power of God in his sword. But he fell victim to the most mortal of sins, pride. Pride in himself and his ability, pride in his dominance and pride in his understanding of the human heart. And yet it was in this very understanding that he met his end. He did not foresee the force of human instinct, the very facet of humanity that makes us all as unpredictable as the wind.

There are few things in this world worth protecting with one's life, but for one such as myself who has known the sting of loneliness and the bitterness of self doubt, friendship is such a thing. And on the cliff I saw the answer. I knew what I had to do to protect the friendships that I had made on this journey. The final move that Shishou taught me. One which must not be used unless defeat is imminent and unacceptable. To fall upon the enemy's sword to create an opening for my own. My own death should have been guaranteed but She was there, as she always was. She was there to heal my wounds.

She was there for both of us because she loved us both, although I noticed that she always gave him more rice. Those two will find each other again, afterall we have never managed to be apart for long since we met. Especially if Fuu finds herself in a brothel again and Mugen needs to rescue her with every bad word he's ever heard.

-OWARI-

**A/N: Sorry it's so short but I just wrote this last scene so that Jin could put in his two cents. I received a review asking for it and since I had felt that the last chapter really didn't end it very well, I capitulated to her wishes and updated this chappie. There isn't much to it but I hope that you all enjoyed it and I hope that it ended a bit better. I'm sorry but I know I do Mugen way better than I do Jin. I guess I'm just a foul mouthed badass! Oh and SHISHOU means "master".**


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